Building social learning platforms to foster greater employee interaction and collaboration is one thing. Making sure they are used effectively and not to the detriment of the organization is another.
When implementing social media or arranging informal get-togethers, learning leaders should ask themselves some fundamental questions: What should employees talk about in social arenas? How will those discussions solve particular business problems, lead to innovation and above all, make a difference to the bottom line? Or, are they just glorified water coolers where employees swap office gossip?
Further, how should learning leaders handle social discussions that devolve into complaining sessions or when employees share information that could hurt the company? Should CLOs play schoolmarm and scold? Should they shut down the social platforms altogether or should they take discussions off-line to solve underlying problems?